Page 46 of The Estate
“That’s horrible,” Lottie said.
Lisa chimed in. “We might have to hurt him.”
God bless friends who had your back.“No. No need to inflict pain,” she replied. She thought maybe he’d been hurt enough by the people who were supposed to love him. Granted, her interactions with Cal’s parents had been brief, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the issue between them ran deep and had some serious roots.
She couldn’t really fault him for getting angry about his parents being consulted about the software upgrade. He must have felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath him. Again.
“He apologized and was sincere about it.” She knew his apology was genuine and told herself to really hear that, but his original words still left a mark. She kept hearing them echo in her mind.
“I’m not going to maim him.” She looked at Lisa directly. “Because he messed up. We all do. So provided that he was truly sorry—which I think he was—we’re good. Besides, he isn’t a jerk all the time. He’s been… kinda fun to be around.”
“Is this the guy from Alex’s wedding?” Adam asked as he put plates on the table.
“It is. Small world, huh? But why do you ask?”
“Well,” Adam started. “If memory serves, he waskindaa jerk then too.”
“He was.” Even Rachel detected the hesitation in her voice.
“So he’s a good guy now? But not really? Sometimes?” Adam asked.
Rachel took a beat to look at her friends, unsure how to answer that. “Yes,” she finally said. “It’s complicated. Or rather, it seems to be.”
“The best ones always are,” Lisa said, earning a glare from Rachel.
“I’m all about forgiving people when they mess up,” Adam said. He and Lottie shared a meaningful look. “We all have stuff in our lives—be it past or present—that we’re dealing with. We never know what someone else is struggling with, so a little grace goes a long way.” He removed food from the grill, tucking tin foil over the platter before walking to the table.
“That said.” His brows furrowed as he looked at her. “If he disrespects you or gives you a problem, Lisa and I can handle it.” Without looking at each other, Adam held up his fist, which Lisa promptly bumped, making an explosion noise.
Rachel wasn’t exactly sure if she should laugh or cry or both.
Lottie simply shrugged. “I’d be a liability, and they know it.”
“Absolutely,” Lisa drawled.
“And in the best possible way,” Adam said, kissing her head. He straightened up and announced, “The pork tenderloin is off and resting. I’ll just finish up a few things and then we can eat.”
As he disappeared into the house, Rachel asked the question that had been rolling around in her mind since her fight with Cal. “Do you guys think I’m closed off?”
“What do you mean?” Lottie asked. “Although my first gut reaction is hell no, but tell me more.”
“It’s just something Cal said. Well, actually he said it and there was an echo of it from my boss Seth, and lord, my ex Matt. God, when I put the list together, it sounds horrible. It must be true. Right? If others have accused me of this before, that’s probably the case, right?”
Wasn’t there some cosmic rule about hearing something from one person, dismiss it, hear it from two and there’s truth? Was she closed off? Removed from everything and everyone? Had she ever completely poured herself into anything besides work?
“Well, Cal apologized for it,” Lisa responded immediately. “So we don’t think he really meant that. And I doubt Seth would accuse you of that. He may not know you very well yet, but that just takes time and relationship building. Besides, it’s your job to be the objective observer, and give your clients that viewpoint,” Lisa said. “So, what’s really at the root of this?”
Rachel fiddled with the edge of her napkin. She didn’t really want to discuss it, but she needed an outside perspective. “Cal apologized for what he said, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true or that there isn’t some truth in it.
“As for the underlying cause, I don’t know. It’s just that recently, I’ve been struggling with connecting with people. SinceI broke up with Matt, it’s harder, or maybe he just put a spotlight on something I was always struggling with.”
“What did he say?”
“When we broke up, well, it was a fight, and it got ugly.”
“As they do,” Lisa chimed in.
“As they do,” Rachel repeated. “I’ve had a few boyfriends over the years, but nothing too serious until Matt. When my previous relationships ended, I attributed it to being somewhat of a workaholic. Not that I was okay with that, but that I was focused on my career, so it felt like a fair assessment.”
